


Of Radiance And Gravity

by emassrelayz



Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types
Genre: (will absolutely NOT bury my gays cuz I have self respect), Blood and Violence, Crimes & Criminals, Destroy Ending, Drama & Romance, F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, Other, Post-Reaper War, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, slowburn, wlw main couple
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-10
Updated: 2019-07-25
Packaged: 2020-06-25 12:55:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19746178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emassrelayz/pseuds/emassrelayz
Summary: One thought she deserved not one second of her life, but she kept fighting for the existence of other people.And one loved life, but was forced to fight for her existence every single day.In the year 2486, 300 years after the Reaper War, as the Andromeda Initiative is still deep into its journey, the Milky Way is in its final stretches towards renovation.And two souls will cross paths chasing a trail of corrupted data that maybe was meant to be left alone.





	1. Data Storage

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! Fairly new in the Mass Effect fanfiction universe, and after the trilogy (that I loved) and the fact that I wish we knew more about a lot of things of the current lore, especially after the Reaper War happened, I've decided to try my hand at a post-Reaper War era story. New characters, new dynamics, new drama, and mentions of old names. I am looking into expanding the known ME universe as far as the Milky Way goes, and hopefully you will stay on this journey with me.
> 
> I also hope you enjoy this story and will give some feedback where needed. Comments and kudos encourage me to keep this going, as all I want is to give you all a good time.
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> P.S. Huge huge HUGE shoutout to all the friends and loved ones that support me every day and encourage me to keep writing. All of this is in part thanks to you guys, I love you all dearly.

* * *

**_300 years later._ **

_Many will remember glows in the sky from their destroyed homes, as the mass relays bursted with light throughout the Milky Way. Many will remember the dying of the geth and the Reapers. Many will remember the lights that brought to the Dark Century, and after that a new light._

_With the construction of the Crucible, new breakthroughs were made in the understanding of mass relays, and thanks to that it was possible to rebuild anew and reactivate them. And the dying galaxy decided that, with these circumstances, the opening of the old dormant mass relays was only going to bring new options and the possibility of uncharted territories and new planets._

_In an era of new **Radiance** and heavy with the **Gravity** of species that were meant to be deleted from the face of the universe, but survived._

* * *

**Scene 01 - Dock 33, Polos Dock Station (Cyone)**

Just another day in Polos for Aylen T’Roth meant exactly that: military duty, welcoming of outside ships for stockage, rinse, repeat. Which would have made a more action oriented person being desperate for a change. But for Aylen this was a much more desirable routine than what would have been her “normal” five years ago. What had yet to change were the doctor visits and the headaches.

“You'd think you'd get used to that,” said Galatea beside her, checking her omni-tool.

Aylen yawned. “Used to what?”

_"Polos Dock Station. All personnel advised to stand by and to not operate airlocks during an opening procedure. Neglecting security protocol is not recommended and shall be punished. Commencing opening procedure in 10. 9.-"_

“Oh, that.”

“It's our army today, isn't it?”

“Yeah, I think they’re coming back from the new relays.”

Galatea was scanning a label on a case as she spoke. “See, I want to see _the relays_ , be out there. Not get bored out of my mind here at cargo duty.”

“I don’t think I can relate to that.”

“Yeah, no kidding. Triad too chaotic for you?”

“Can’t say I miss it.”

She really didn’t.

Galatea gave her a _look_. “You can’t also want to just stay here for the next two centuries. I certainly don’t.”

“What, I like it here. It's calm and non-threatening.”

“And boring. But anyway,” Galatea said, “Soanne wants us to report at 1700 at the registry.”

Aylen nodded and typed in the cargo number in the inventory of the warehouse on her omni-tool. In that moment a mail notification popped up on the screen.

_Doctor Lykar, Yakshiana Tower, Floor 13, Flat M. 1530 hours._

Galatea peaked over Aylen’s shoulder. “Doctor?”

She nodded and rubbed her painful temple.

“Goddess, when was the last time you initiated a Meld?”

“It’s fine.”

“If you faint on the job I’m leaving you on the ground,” Galatea said.

“What are friends for, right?”

As Aylen turned towards the docks, magnetic anchors fixed to a ship that had just now halted. It was a dark blue and white frigate, with black wings and in white script shining on the side it read _ARV Ardasia SR-1_.

Someone who seemed to be an asari in black armor and another one in asari commando brown suit exited the ship.

Galatea whistled. “When I retire you should buy me one of those.”

“No.”

“Killjoy.”

* * *

**Scene 02 - Yakshiana Tower, Polos (Cyone)**

Aylen remembered doctor Anthea Lykar as an old family friend more than her doctor, as she had never been a stranger to medical check ups. And yet, every single time she entered Lykar’s white door she couldn’t help but want to leave right away.

Nysa turned from her terminal at the counter and smiled at her.

“Good afternoon, Aylen. Here to see the doctor?”

Aylen shifted her weight to her right leg but smiled back. “Routine check.”

“Of course. Sit in the hall, Anthea will be here shortly.

She sat on the red old couch, the over 5 year old scratch on the arm rest still visible and not fixed. She let herself drown in the couch, picking with her fingers at the scratch in the worn fake leather. In the hall there was another asari commando judging by the black and white gear, laughing at something the krogan in white armor next to her had just said, a small asari kid sitting between them.

Aylen tried not to get caught staring at the heartwarming display.

Doctor Lykar showed up from the door at the back of the room, her gaze drifting to the family on the sofa and crossing her arms but smiling.

“Grunt, I’m sure Helya is more than capable to attend her appointments without you always accompanying her."

“Oh, doc, you know how it is. Mom busy, kid running around. Gotta look out."

Lykar nodded. “Yes, indeed. So, who’s next?”

Aylen slipped further in the couch, silent. A poor attempt at eluding attention.

“Oh, Aylen, there you are,” Lykar smiled at her. “Just about time. Helya, Nysa will have you in the other room in ten minutes.”

The other asari nodded and smiled at Aylen as if encouragingly. Aylen, embarrassed, stood up and walked to the door, trying her best to not pull at her ridges in a way she knew she had taken after her mother.

The door slid shut behind her and Aylen walked to the chair, doctor Lykar doing the same with the second chair right in front.

“So,” the doctor opened the terminal next to her, “how have you been?”

Aylen shrugged. “Job’s quiet.”

“Seems like the quiet didn’t do you any good, though.” Lykar scrolled down her pad. “Your tendril tissue samples analysis came out with some anomalies.”

Aylen felt all blood drain from her face, and tried to keep a neutral expression.

“Anomalies?”

“Positive bioten values have increased considerably compared to your last visit.”

“Another - another episode?”

“It depends,” the doctor said. “Your bioten imbalances are routine, but I’ll have to do the usual check up.”

Aylen told herself that it probably meant nothing. She took slow breaths to calm down. She couldn’t.

“But doctor, I-”

“Yes?”

Aylen sighed. It had been decades since her last episode. But apparently she was wrong. Again. She nodded and closed her eyes.

Doctor Lykar reached for Aylen's face, her eyes going black. 

Aylen stiffened in her chair. One moment later she was standing in a dark blue expanse, her body floating like a feather in mid-air.

“Do we _really_ have to?” she asked.

“Part of protocol, I’m afraid.”

“Protocol,” she sighed. “Okay.”

“Textbook asari prevention.”

“Got it.”

Aylen missed her bed dearly.

“Could it be Cyonian day cycle?” Aylen asked.

“Aylen, you’ve been living here for three decades now.”

Aylen stared at the black and blue expanse in front of her.

“Do you experience headaches?” Lykar said.

“Had a headache today.”

“Okay. For how long has this been happening?”

“A few weeks, I believe.”

“Have you been experiencing an extended period of stress?”

More like tedious and ever increasing cargo guard. “More or less. Shipment control has increased recently due to the opening of the new relays.”

“I see. Have you tried to Meld to regulate your stress levels?”

Aylen moved her hands in the air, her head aching even in the realms of Lykar’s mind.

“Not really, no,” she said.

“As in, none at all, not even during sexual intercourse?”

“Uhm.”

Lykar sighed. “Well, sexual activity is still good for you, I suppose.”

“Yeah, no, Galatea endorses that one hundred percent.”

“I’m sure she does. Now go ahead.”

Aylen stared at the blackness above her. A pool of glistening anti-matter glass, a flow of watery strings swirling around one towards the other. Weaving. Entangling. Drifting away at every blink of her eyelids. 

Aylen breathed in and reached with her hand. She saw her fingers fading into the glass, dipping in the thick black water, and on the other side of the barrier. Her fingertips touched the cool softness of one string. Her fist closed around it, and she pulled back. 

The string unraveled in the blue expanse, around her, beneath her, _inside_ her. That familiar moment of _too close_. 

“You're okay, Aylen. I'm with you.”

She took a deep breath. “This is hard.”

“I know.”

Aylen sighed, her body now floating above the web, like a safety net ready to give up under her. 

She grabbed the string with both hands, and pulled them open. 

_“Liking the new room?”_

_A young and small Aylen nodded. Marin’s big black eyes and lipless smile got even bigger._

_Adessa leaned her head on Marin's shoulder. “You do? I'm glad.”_

_Aylen put her hand on the clean and empty glass of the desk, empty dustless bookshelves around it._

_“They told us you have old paper books you wanted to bring with you, so we thought maybe some book shelves? Surprisingly hard to come by in this age. Hope you like.”_

_Aylen looked at the black skinned salarian. “Thanks.”_

_A couple boxes stood on the floor, among the few furniture pieces of the otherwise bare white and green room. In one of the shelves there was a battered copy of what seemed to be a history book._

_“What's that?”_

_“Oh, human history from latest travel on Earth. Easier to find paper books there than in most systems.”_

_Aylen had always wondered if the human world looked like the books she used to devour back in the orphanage library._

_“How's Earth?”_

_“Interesting wildlife. Also polluted. Humans feel strongly about the issue. Very nice to see. Still rebuilding from Reaper War, too.”_

_“I see.”_

_Aylen stared at the battered blue spine of the book in the shelf, shifting her weight from foot to foot. A hand leaned gently at the back of her neck, Adessa now next to her._

_“Want some eleeni?” she asked. “I just made it.”_

_“I, uh. Would like that.”_

_“Okay! I'll be right there,” Adessa walked towards the kitchen. “Marin, help me please?”_

_Marin nodded at her and left the room behind Adessa._

Aylen let go of the string like it burned on her skin.

“Does your mother know about the headaches?”

“No.”

“Are you sure about this?”

Aylen thought about it and felt her anxiety gnaw at her throat. “I wish to not worry her at the moment. It’s just,” she sighed. “It’s complicated.”

“How so?”

She moved strings around like a hand in the water. “The visits, the doctors, the sample taking, the therapy talking.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine.”

Lykar said nothing more.

Aylen closed her eyes, her heart and her eyelids exhausted. _I would love to sleep._ She opened them again and saw another string. Much thinner, more recent. She pulled it and pressed it against her chest.

_Tea was_ so _drunk. “I know, but she’s_ so _cute.”_

_They both turned at the drell woman laughing at something a quarian girl was telling her._

_Aylen moved the bottle away from Galatea. “I’d tell you to talk to her but honestly you’d just make a fool of yourself.”_

_“I won’t, just watch-” Galatea stood up and wobbled. “Whoa, nevermind.”_

Lykar snorted.

“Tell Galatea that she is due to her monthly visit in a week.”

Aylen deadpanned. “Did. Didn’t work.”

“Sometimes it surprises me that you’re in your full maiden stage while she’s almost old enough to start considering her future as a matron.”

“Galatea might just postpone it for as long as possible.”

Aylen’s black glass of detachment started to thaw and thin out and her breath picked up.

“Aylen, relax.”

“Yeah. Okay.”

Her shoulders felt rigid and painful, but in the floating space of her own mind she felt all her body immersed in that alien feeling of openness, larger-than-life air into her lungs, between her fingers, into her heart. And it was too much.

Suddenly she was outside of her mind, back into the studio.

“Something on your mind?”

Aylen thought about the headaches and the analysis results. About telling her mother.

“Nothing important.”

Lykar nodded. “Please, let me know if there's any problem.”

Aylen nodded, her hands in her lap, sweaty and restless. The doctor stood up and grabbed the datapad again.

“Very well, neuro-biotic feedback check-ups next.”

* * *

**Scene 03 - Assignment Registry #5, Polos**

The Assignment Registry queue had already reached the waiting area as Aylen exited the elevator. She hovered her omni-tool on the registry of the counter for her number and went to sit.

The first time her mother had tried to Meld, Aylen had recoiled and pushed herself away. Refusing the Joining didn’t happen often. It didn’t really happen at all. And yet, after 120 years out of the orphanage, Aylen still found herself resisting.

"What is bothering you, friend?"

She turned around. Galatea walked towards her while yawning.

Aylen picked at her sleeve. "Lykar says I’m having another episode."

"I mean, it _has_ been a while.

"No one asked."

The registry called a number, their queue moving one person away from the counter.

Galatea gave her a pat on the shoulder. "Want to have a drink after work? Could use that at least."

Aylen rubbed her face and nodded. "Maybe tomorrow. Kennaleth?"

"The red light pub? Wow, you’re desperate."

"Must you make it a thing every time?"

"Is that how we’re calling it now?" Galatea’s tone nothing but entertained and mocking.

"I thought you couldn’t wait to go back and see that one quarian girl of yours again-"

Galatea slapped her shoulder. "We are _not_ talking about that."

"Shameful and secretive Galatea, okay, I see what happened."

"She just offered me a drink."

Satisfied with the change of topic, her and Tea kept bickering until the last commando left the counter and their number was called.

Chief Warden Soanne gave a salut. - Guardian Aylen T’Roth. Guardian Galatea B’Zeil.

"Chief Warden," greeted Galatea.

Aylen handed the datapad. "Here’s the report for the Sirta cargo."

Soanne took the datapad and scrolled down. She nodded and put it on her desk, then looked at her terminal, typed something in and looked back at them. "I'm glad to inform you that you're on the move from today. Council assignment. Discovery capital, on Horizon.

Galatea slammed her hands on the counter. "Are we _moving_? Chief, you may be the highlight of my day."

Aylen blinked in confusion.

Soanne rolled her eyes at Galatea. "You’re very lucky you’re good at your job, because your lack of professionalism makes up about 90% of your behavior reports."

"Goodbye, Cyone, welcome _spacefaring_."

"B’Zeil, please."

Aylen expected to be in bed in about two hours. She was craving a book and her bed, or maybe just the bed. She expected to take her assignment and go home for the day. What she did not expect was being told to be ready to leave home for six months.

Soanne passed a card on the counter towards her. _Narkuna Protocol._ Aylen also did not expect being called for a high priority assignment in a human colony. Just with exclusively asari-based mercs on Cyone.

Galatea shook her arm. "Holy Athame, we’re being called for-"

__"B’Zeil."__

The warden made her way towards the backdoor. "Follow me."

Aylen sighed and walked with Galatea behind the counter beyond the security barrier, catching up on a run and walked behind the captain into the backdoor quarters. Or more like, she walked while Galatea jumped and whispered “yes!” while walking down the hall. The bright white lit walls were bare of any decoration, the only hint of color the numbers of the storage doors on both sides.

They stopped in front of door 51. The warden’s omni-tool glowed near a clearance reader.

"Security Clearance, Level 5. Operator ID?"

"Chief Warden Aliana Soanne. J0-649-T71."

"Access granted."

The reader glowed green and the doors opened and closed behind them. A lean tall asari standing behind a desk, datapad in hand. Her skin of a very light purple color, blue lines running down her eyes on her cheeks, her figure clad in a suit of light black and red armor with the SPECTRE insignia in white on her right shoulder pad. She raised her eyes towards them and gave a salut.

"Chief Soanne, glad to have you back," she said and walked around the desk and towards them. "I am SPECTRE Neeka Haldios."

Warden Soanne returned the salut. "Spectre Haldios. These are Aylen T’Roth and Galatea B’Zeil, Guardian Commandos at the Polos Dock Station. I will leave further debriefing to you. The warden patted Aylen and Galatea’s shoulders. "I trust you with this one." Soanne gave a final nod and walked out the hissing door.

Aylen’s brain had stopped at the word ‘spectre’.

"Guardian T’Roth, Guardian B’Zeil. Pleasure to meet you. I’ve heard only good things."

"Chief Soanne sure has a _way_ to rain news on people," said Galatea in an unsually meek voice.

Haldios chuckled. "I’m sure that won’t be a problem?"

Aylen shook her head. "I hope we can be of help."

“With your type of credentials? I think you will,” she said. 

Aylen had a hard time trying to take whatever was happening in that moment seriously, especially with Galatea who wore the expression of someone who had been told the best news of the year. "In all reality, we have never worked outside of Cyone, sir."

Haldios took a datapad and read, "Aylen T’Roth, graduated from Lerama Academy, perfect scores. Deployed on guard and for investigation in Gellian, Haduni, and Juulan, all on Cyone. Tough environment, the Triad," she turned to Aylen’s friend. "And you, Galatea B’Zeil. Also graduated from Lerama, followed up by a recommendation into the Serrice Guard. Impressive. Also deployed in Gellian, Haduni, and Juulan,” The Spectre put the datapad down and smiled. “Soanne couldn’t stop listing all your credentials to me, and I did come prepared, don’t you think?"

“Permission to speak freely?” Aylen asked.

“Of course.”

“I think Chief Soanne is too good to us, sir.”

Aylen felt sharp pain as Galatea elbowed her in the rib. “We’re glad to be able to help any way we can, sir.”

“I’m sure Soanne has reasons for it, Guardian T’Roth. But anyway," Haldios pulled a holograph from the datapad. “I’m tasked with the formation of a stealth reconnaissance team to investigate possible trade fraud. I am obligated to not reveal further, at least not in this setting, but I can show you this.”

The spectre opened a window in the holograph, the image showing a delivery confirmation notice from the Discovery Station on Horizon, serial number CY6722HO. Then she swiped to another image, a report of missing cargo, serial number CY6722HO. The same number.

It sank in quicker than Aylen could have stopped her mouth. “That can’t be right.”

Galatea sounded as confused as Aylen. “What does this mean?”

Neeka Haldios closed the holograph. “Horizon orders cargo. Cargo arrives and is confirmed. But then the same confirmation is deleted from the database and the cargo disappears. All is dismissed as a system accident.”

“Is someone trying to cover something up?”

Neeka nodded. “We think so. General Yao on Horizon sent this information through private channels to the Council and requested further investigation. And yes, ‘foul delivery statement’ seems like an appropriate assumption. Soanne was right, it seems,” the Spectre smiled.

Aylen kept silent.

Haldios leaned on the table between them. “But this isn’t the first time. A series of shipment disappearances, big amounts, have been signaled in several worlds throughout the galaxy. It’s been not possible to track down any substantial amount of proof or data that could lead us towards something consistent. It seems like intel gathering, of _any_ kind, is pretty tight and difficult.”

Galatea spoke. “And no specific government can handle it beside the Council because none of this is specific to one race.”

Haldias nodded. “Correct. Me and SPECTRE Ramos have been tasked to investigate the matter.”

Aylen crossed her arms, her eyes down, not really focusing on the table. This still didn’t explain why they were being picked for the job.

“Why us, sir?”

“As I said, I need to put a team together. Your complete career files have shown that you two might be the most qualified to deal with this circumstance.”

Aylen felt her chest grow in a wave of pride. But also fear. And a seed of dread.

“Sir, may I speak freely?” she asked.

“Of course.”

Aylen straightened and looked at the asari. “Is the Triad involved?”

Galatea looked at her, her arms on her sides. Many nights of drunk walking home and crying about past ghosts were enough shared experience to know what this was about.

Haldios looked at her for a few seconds. Haldios had just told her that she had talked with Soanne about her past investigating the Triad. She wondered if that discussion had wandered deeper into the details of it. All of a sudden Aylen didn’t want to be in that room anymore.

“It’s possible,” Haldios said. ”I’m also aware that this is not easy for either of you, but I wouldn’t be here if I thought there was an alternative.”

Galatea put her hands on the desk and took a deep breath. A few seconds passed until she spoke.

“Count me in.”

Aylen’s stomach dropped and her mouth dried up. Juulan. It creeped back into her life, like the nightmares she couldn’t stop at night. Like the breaths picking up in her mouth every time she entered the doctor’s hall. A presence, pitch black and looming over her bed, an assassin with a knife raised on her sleeping figure. Galatea was a damn good soldier and fighter, and Aylen saw constant reminders of that. She would be fine on her own. But if what Haldios said was true, she couldn’t let Galatea go alone. Not after Juulan.

“Me, too.”

* * *

  
  
**Scene 04 - Tuchanka, Aralakh System**

Nadya’s normally tawny beige skin looked just empty of color in the darkness of the rainy night, as her arm burst from the ground, dirty with muddy sludge and soil. She clawed at the earth from underneath and pulled dirt and leaves apart. The smell of the rain filled her lungs, the shirt around her head protecting her from the earth pressure and aiding her breathing. She pushed through the hole above her and hoisted her torso up and down on the surface. Once her legs were also free, she dropped on her back, her arms open and her eyes at the sky.

She breathed in and let out a deep sigh. The voice in her cochlear augmentation came back to life.

“Connection to admin restored. Nadya, what happened?”

“Oh, you know,” she lifted herself off the ground and dusted the earth off her - wet - pants. “Stealing from smugglers. They didn’t like it.”

“Precisely why I suggested to infiltrate through the cargo hold and not just the back door.”

“Hell no, Aria promised me ten grand,” Nadya said and shook her black hair from the leaves.

“Is being buried alive a better alternative?”

“I can’t take on a crowd of krogan on my own now, can I?

Knowing REA, she would have sighed if she could. “Should I even try locating the package?

“I _did_ manage to grab it and put a tracker on it, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

REA turned silent for a second.

“3207 meters from here, at your 9.”

“They didn’t even bother searching the ruins?”

“I don’t detect any living presence for 5.2 kilometres.”

She pat around her belt and sighed. “Well, they did remember to take my weapons.”

“Should I drive the Osiris to these coordinates?”

Nadya activated her biotics and burst into a long jump, landed and started running.

“No, input the hiding’s coordinates,” Nadya burst forward again and smirked. “Race me to it?”

She should have really installed a ‘sigh’ feature into REA’s vocal data.

About fifteen minutes later, Nadya reached a gaping hole in the ground, supported by square columns of stone leaning on one another, the surroundings of the hole covered in growing plant. Seeing vegetation on Tuchanka, her dad said many times, was probably one of the most marvellous changes that the Reaper War had unwillingly caused. Though it was hard to imagine such lush vegetation not being there, even despite the countless amounts of documentation on it.

Nadya took a deep breath at the memory and entered the cave.

* * *

The shuttle door of the Osiris opened as Nadya walked towards it, a jump in her step.

“Fucking unbelievable, a group of petty smugglers let a music box slip by them this easily.”

“Shall I remind you that ‘easily’ meant being buried alive?” REA said.

“Oh, live a little.”

“I am but an artificial intelligence.” The shuttle door opened.

“Whatever,” she stepped on the ship. “What else did we recover today?”

“Recovered relics: intact music box, half a Floater, three Irises in the red color spectrum, 46 pages of wall inscription. Saving writing scans to your database.”

“Neat. Send a mail to the Twilight Blades. I’ll make the drop in the Afterlife sewers.”

“Very well.”

The shuttle door closed behind Nadya and she walked towards her cabin, half of her gear already off. Donned off the armor, she opened the inventory bag on her bed. The music box gave a low vibrating hum, the square shape of blue alloy decorated by a net of perpendicular lines that ran across the entire surface in a pixelated fashion. Nadya fell on the bed and grabbed the box. She turned sides of it with no friction resistance, the side opposite to it moving in the same way as she shifted the other. The music box glowed a light green color and it opened. All the sides rigid and open in her hand, the center of the box presented a luminescent sphere that projected light into the otherwise dark cabin. All over her walls were schemes in the Densorin language, schemes of what Nadya didn’t know yet. The room was filled with the same hum but changing in notes, rising, then falling, into a melody that Nadya hadn’t heard from before her dad disappeared.

“REA, can you save these schemes and the music to my database?”

“Loading now.”

Nadya closed the box and looked around, paranoid. She grabbed her armor and dragged it on her bed and flipped it inside out. Behind one of the shoulder padded plates Nadya removed a false plaque on the other side of which was a number pad and, in the shoulder plate, an empty space. She took the music box and put it in the little hole, which was barely big enough, and then digited a code behind the plaque and she applied it again. She tried to remove the plaque as proof, but the plaque stayed there.

“Better safe than sorry,” she muttered between herself.

Nadya sat up and reached for her terminal. Two mail notifications illuminated a window in the corner, but she ignored them. Opening the extranet, she started looking for anything related to ‘Tarantula Nebula’. A list of latest news and several academic articles popped up.

_‘Dormant mass relay in Tarantula Nebula reached and activated.’_

A couple academic papers quoted: _‘Dormant mass relays: ethics of pre-Reaper War laws and the Relay 314 Incident’_ or _‘The Uncharted Relays: timeline of the Agamemnon Cluster and Tarantula Nebula unveiling’_ or also _‘Densorin: the new frontiers of Uncharted Relays in the Attican Traverse’_.

More news articles appeared on the newly named Tarantula 1 Relay, followed by countless snippets of clickbait news of low repute. Nadya opened her chat networks and scrolled through contacts.

_Sailor.:_

_New relays sound interesting, anything I should know?_

_GK:_

_My sources say that the Tarantula 1 Relay awakening is winding down soon. Very likely that the Council might send Spectres to check it out when that’s done. Might want to give it a month or 2, my friend._

_Sailor.:_

_Thanks, also no promises._

_GK:_

_You owe me 200 creds even if you get your ass caught._

_Sailor.:_

_Don’t ever get debts with drell, got it._

Nadya closed the terminal and laid on the bed, arms crossed under head.

“REA, plot a route for Omega. A week in Alliance territory is enough to make my skin break into hives.”

* * *

**Scene 05 - Afterlife, Omega (Omega Nebula)**

Afterlife’s music vibrated into the air as Nadya walked in, a sealed package bag hanging from her shoulder and her hand holding onto it, her gun attached to the belt clasp. Aria told her that a group of her crew would have waited for her right outside the pub, near the apartments shutdoors, so after the first hour of waiting she checked the time and sighed towards the endless ceiling. Thank god she considers the shit Nadya brought back useful, otherwise she would have rot waiting in that dump.

A krogan in deep purple and black armor approached, a shotgun trained loosely. "Sailor?"

Nadya whistled. “Took you long enough.”

“Tsk. Got the package?”

Nadya threw the bag to the krogan. He grabbed it and typed in the code. The bag opened and showed the three Irises she had retrieved on Tuchanka and at least ten altars made of marble, etched in striped patterns were glyphs and the bottom made of blue alloy.

The purple krogan gave a smug chuckle. “Good work. Now follow me.”

The krogan waited for Nadya to walk - and she didn’t dare had him wait. The main floor of Afterlife smelled of old human scotch and countless traces of whatever scent was being poured in the vapor diffusers, as if the place didn’t already look like the textual description of the word “hazy”, with strippers working the night off on the rings hovering above the central bar.

Nadya raised her arms, scanned by the guards, and then walked to Aria, who was drinking from a chalice and reading from a datapad.

The Queen of Omega raised her eyes from the datapad and smirked. "Welcome back, Sailor."

“Just one merc as my welcoming party? And here I thought I was a valuable asset.”

Aria’s smirk widened. “Doubting yourself?”

Nadya shrugged. “Just feeling kinda neglected.”

“Poor thing, would you like to ask for some more attention?”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

“Good,” Aria extended her hand, the krogan passing the bag to her. Aria looked into it and gave a satisfied hum. “Drakun will finally get off my ass for a while.”

“Oh, you’re not gonna bargain that stuff with the volus trafficker? He can’t tell Prothean from Oravores.”

Aria gave the bag back to the merc. “That’s none of my concern. I enjoy that mind of yours quite a bit, but please keep it empty of pride, I don’t need that.”

Nadya rolled her eyes. “Whatever. So, my creds?”

Aria nodded to the batarian merc on her left, and the soldier typed into his omni-tool.

“10,000 creds for the joy of your ship maintenance.”

“The Osiris is doing just fine.”

Aria chuckled and gestures towards the sofa on the right. The usual Aria way to start talking about business. Nadya sat down on the couch, leaning her arms on the back and crossing her calf on the other leg.

She gave a fake yawn. “What’s up?”

Aria took the datapad from her lap and passed it to her. “Jayla Korrus needs to be dealt with.”

“What did he do? Bitch owes me 2000.”

“Not for long. He has come in the possession of encrypted disks that I’m quite interested in. He was supposed to deliver them here but he hasn’t, and I hate deals being unnecessarily delayed. He thinks he can keep a loose attitude about our agreements, but he's got another thing coming."

Nadya nodded and crossed her arms behind her back.

Aria continued. “A few days ago we tracked one of his agents down in the Tuhi District. Managed to get a location out of her.”

“Before or after you killed her?”

“Funny. Pylos Nebula. Namakli, in the Zaherin system. Job’s yours. In and out. Make it messy.”

Nadya’s eyebrows went to her forehead. “One man job?” she said, “Are you out of your mind? Jayla’s cocky but not stupid, he’ll have armed muscle all over whatever base he has.”

Aria leaned forward, her face barely a foot from Nadya’s.

“I can’t send any of my mercs,” she said. “I need an independent contact for this one. And this is very much up your alley.”

The purple krogan huffed from the first steps.

“Kaol, don't make me fire you.”

He lowered his head, his mouth in a grimace. “Yes, ma’am.”

Nadya suffocated a snort. She turned to Aria again and said, “You forget that I also work for you."

“No, you take assignments from anybody who is willing to pay you.”

“Okay, that’s - good point.”

“Get in, get out,” Aria waved with her hand. “I’m not picky on how you do it. I’ll send you details in the next hour.”

“Data, in and out, silence is optional,” Nadya nodded. “Got it.”

“See?” Aria said and smirked. “This is why we get along.”


	2. Names

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Glad to see people (either here and outside of this website) are interested in this! I hope you all are doing well, and I hope you enjoy this next chapter.
> 
> Have a good time!

**Scene 01 - Omega Docks, Omega Nebula**

After the meeting with Aria, Nadya walked into the lower levels and splurged in contraband tech both for the Osiris and her armor. After all, armor and gun mods didn't come cheap, even as a criminal in a black market. 

“Ugar, come on, just a friend discount?”

The elcor behind the counter was still. “Mildly annoyed: Sailor, you promised me Floater parts and I'm not seeing them.” 

Sometimes Nadya really wished she was _filthy rich_. “I know where to get more. Just please do me some credit, I'll bring you the parts as soon as I have them.”

“Serious and firm: No can do, Sailor. It's 1500 credits.”

“Fine, okay. But I want my money back when I bring you the goddamn parts.”

“Doubtful: We will see. Have a nice day”

Nadya shook her hand and walked away, a sealed case with no label in her arms.

As she was walking down the dock towards the Osiris, her omni-tool notified her of incoming messages. She balanced the case on her right leg and arm and activated the call. 

“Oh, yes, Aria, I will open your mail as soon as I enter my ship without dropping this thing on my feet.”

She could sense a smirk in Aria's voice. “Oh, no one wants that. I just wish to tell you this and away from Afterlife and mercs ears: meet me in my quarters in one hour.

Nadya stopped in her tracks, and looked around to check if anyone was around. She lowered her voice. “Your place?”

“One hour.”

Aria T’Loak hung up.

Nadya blinked at her omni-tool, the case lying at her feet. Aria not wanting to discuss business even from her throne in Afterlife was rare, and even when it happened it was meant for stuff she’d just send a mail over. Or she just wanted to discuss it over a glass of vodka, which was also likely. Nadya had a suspicion that Aria was starting to feel her age and getting paranoid and lonely about it. Not that she’d have the guts to say it to her face.

Nadya entered the ship and dropped the case in the cargo of her ship and opened it. Five boxes, like usual. She checked the contents, each box holding ten syringe ready shots, all intact, nothing missing. She took one syringe of blue fluid and took her shirt off, then uncapped the syringe and punched it in her bare shoulder. Nadya’s muscles snapped into relaxation and she exhaled the breath she didn’t realize she was holding.

She closed the cases and read over the tablet scans she recovered before exiting the ship again and heading towards the shuttles to the Outer Districts and towards the Leanon District, or called by many on Omega the “balcony”. The apartments were not visible aside from doors in otherwise pretty bare and crude metal walls, the area facing on a single street that lead into a bunch of shops and bars, towards the shuttle area. Everything was drowned in a very dim white light from the few neons that stood at every street corner and from the lights of the quarters above.

Nadya walked towards Slot 9 and pushed her hand on the digital scanner, then typing a code on the keyboard. The red light over the scanner glowed blue and the door opened.

The high set of stairs disappeared into an illuminated room, one side completely facing the outside through a wall wide window. The darkness of the open space was broken by random points of light, light years away from where Nadya was standing right now, one lamp illuminating the long sofa facing the immense screen on her left.

Aria walked from the darkness on the other side of the room, a glass of transparent liquid in her hand and her body wrapped just in a black robe, the low light from the lamp illuminating her figure and giving a warm glow to her otherwise calculating eyes.

Nadya did her best not to let her eyes drop to hint of bare leg coming out of the robe, but very much failing. She cleared her throat.

“So, uh, you wanted to talk about the job?”

Aria took a sip from the glass, not once taking her eyes off Nadya. For which Nadya didn’t know if she was thankful or, well, something else.

“A contact in the Citadel tipped me off on the content of the disks. Jayla couldn't have got those disks alone, so I did some looking of my own.”

 _The Citadel, huh?_ “Aren’t you and the Council not really good friends?”

Aria took another sip and hummed. “Let’s just call it a truce.” She walked towards Nadya. “Find out about Jayla's work network. The client is paying me to have the disks back, but I'd love to know _everything_ about that poor bastard. And also to have the disks, of course.”

"Nothing without personal interest, huh?" Nadya smirked. “Do you owe this client a favor?”

Aria kept walking towards her, the lamp now illuminating the entirety of the matriarch’s figure, the black robe dangerously loose on her body, opening down the middle. Nadya couldn’t help her eyes.

Slender fingers raised her chin, Nadya’s eyes losing focus onto Aria’s increasingly bare shoulders.

“Don't be ridiculous.”

Nadya whistled. “Wrong question. And my cut?”

Aria closed the distance between their faces, their noses just inches apart.

“Will another ten grand do?” Aria’s lips were _so_ close.

“I, uh - _guess_?”

“Good,” she smirked. “But for now, we get to not talk about work.”

Aria put the glass down on the table next to the lamp, her robe dropped to the ground and her eyes turned black, like the infinite space outside the window.

  


* * *

**Scene 02 - Polos Docks Station, Cyone**

Neeka Haldios’ ship, the ARV Ardasia SR-1, was a Stealth Reconnaissance frigate, And Aylen knew this because her mother’s novel research had been 10% about turian history and 90% about spacefaring technology. SR ships had also taken plenty of inspiration from the legendary first and second Normandy models, and plenty of modern engineering books referenced its now historical blueprints.

“Guardian T'Roth, I assume that my ship is making a good first impression?”

Aylen shook herself from her thoughts and looked at the Spectre. “Ah, yes, quite. I am no expert but I hear that the Tantalus 2.0 core has outstanding performances.”

Neeka Haldios hummed. “I see,” she said, “our chief engineer won't stop talking about it.”

The main door opened, Haldios stepping in and Aylen following her.

“We will be leaving in two intergalactic days, so you and Guardian B’Zeil have time to gather your things.”

“Yes, sir,” Galatea said.

The airlock opened inside the ship. “And it’s Commander Haldios from here onwards. Officer Ikeda will give you a tour of the ship and show you to the sleeping pod quarters. We will have a meeting in the debriefing room in three hours,”

Neeka Haldios nodded at both of them. “Now if you’ll excuse me.” And she walked off to the main command center where two officers approached her with a datapad.

Where could she even begin to process any of this? A few hours ago she was sleep deprived and slaving over empty cargo crates. But now? Now she only had herself to blame for getting involved in something that she couldn’t refuse for the simple reason that she was the best candidate for it. Oh, and that Galatea joined her in all of this. Which, all things considered, was the best part of it all. Her forehead had been in cold sweats for the past thirty minutes and the thought of Juulan and not even the thought of elasa waiting in her kitchen helped her.

Galatea by her side just stared around them, eyes wide and glued to the neon lights of the terminals around them, the air smelling of military outfits and clean shiny metal.

At her left the cockpit glowed with terminals, three operators scrolling through schematics and data and exchanging words. The one at the center stood up and gave them a smile and a wave of the hand. She was human, straight white hair descending into a short side bob, one side of the haven clean shaven. She walked towards her and gave them a salut.

“Officer Haruna Ikeda. First pilot of the ARV Ardasia SR-1 and your on-board guide for the next half hour.”

 _Play nice._ Aylen exchanged the salut. “Guardian Commando Aylen T’Roth, Cyone Division.” She extended the hand in a human hand holding. - Nice to meet you.

Officer Ikeda, surprised, gave the hand with a smile. “Learned human customs somewhere?”

“Oh, no, I’m just, uhm - a fan.”

“Interesting.”

“Culture - and history.” Aylen let the hand go, embarrassed. “Just, hobbies between assignments.”

“Nerd,” Galatea said, and gave Ikeda a salut. “Guardian Galatea B’Zeil. I hope to be of service while my collegue here embarasses us.”

Haruna laughed. “Oh, Chief Haldios will give plenty of occasion for you guys to feel on edge, don’t worry.”

Galatea sounded entirely too _entertained_. “Always enjoyed a warm welcome.”

“That’s why they keep me around. Please follow me.”

The ARV Ardasia SR-1, which took more or less one hour to see, was structured on three main floors. The main one, the CIC, presented what Officer Ikeda had described as the “latest on galaxy map interface”, designed to be a projector of 4D images through the engineered projecting black glass that covered top and bottom of the main chamber in the shape of an oval. At which, Aylen thought, Officer Ikeda had put an active effort into describing with as much detail as possible, like someone who cannot stop talking about the latest new thing they got into. 

The middle floor had the crew’s quarters, the med bay on the left and the CO’s personal room on the right, the engineering area all the way to the back. Finally, there was the third floor, which stored the armory, the shuttle area and the mission shuttle for small team recon. Officer Ikeda had introduced crew member after crew member at each floor, and Aylen felt it necessary to try and fix each name and face to memory.. 

As they went back to the middle floor, officer Ikeda brought her to the crew’s quarters, divided in two sections along the corridor in front of the elevator.

"So here’s your sleeping pod," said Ikeda, entering the door left of the elevator. She walked towards the sleeping pod in the back, near the window. "And a pretty nice view," she said. "Well, once we’re moving."

Aylen looked around and took in the pretty empty space, no personal belongings lying around, each sleeping pod in perfect condition and untouched. Outside the window another ship was docked beside them, an SSV Canterbury CT-6, being currently unloaded of whatever cargo it was transporting. There was no one in the room besides them.

"Am I the only one sleeping here?"

Ikeda nodded. "You and Guardian B'Zeil, at least for the moment. Spectre Haldios is planning to make these the living quarters of the rest of the new team. Welcome to the crew, officer T’Roth."

Haruna Ikeda’s smile made Aylen feel a bit less on edge.

"You can call me Aylen," she said, giving the human a small smile.

Officer Ikeda’s smile grew even bigger. "I like you. And you can call me Haruna."

* * *

**Scene 03 - ARV Ardasia SR-1, Polos Dock Station**

The debriefing room, Aylen thought, had been designed acting on a whim of interior design, standard ship rooms being usually rectangular or in whatever shape suited better the rest of the ship’s design. This one had an octagonal shape, a row of seats attached to the surrounding walls with no interruption between one another, probably room for around 15 people.

The center of the room presented a black glass floor just like the one in the CIC, from which another crew member was setting up data screens, pictures and galaxy maps. Neeka Haldios was in the back of the room opposite the entrance, looking at the members who were gathering inside. Aylen sat left of the Spectre but a good few seats away. Officer Ikeda was also in the room, having been kind enough to take Aylen and Galatea to it. Aylen had also sent her mother a message telling her that she wanted to talk to her later that night. She was going to be an entirely different can of worms.

Haldios’ assistant, a green skinned salarian, sat opposite to Aylen and he gave her a small smile. Aylen hoped that the reassuring smiles weren’t just a way to sugarcoat a much tougher crew.

Neeka Haldios cleared her throat and opened a folder in projection.

“Seven months ago. Rannoch. Cargo of 3,500 newly made ME storage units missing.” She swiped through the folder. “Six months and a half ago. Digeris. 3,700 units of elemento zero go missing in what is archived as an incident. 10 casualties. 3 dead.” A new slide. “4 months ago. Aephus. 10,000 units of elemento zero disappear over the arc of 2 months. 3 missed shipments worth of crates scattered all across the surface of the colony.” 

The Spectre grabbed the folder in the holograph and swiped it down closed. With the other hand she brought up a new folder and opened a document.

“2 months ago. Horizon. Cargo of 1,000 units of elemento zero missing. Unreported until 2 weeks ago, new issue is requested. And this brings us to today.”

Neeka Haldios looked at Aylen and Galatea. “So. What do you think?”

“Well,” Galatea said. “Sure it seems like someone’s either preparing for arming a small group, or there’s something else going on.”

Neeka hummed and then looked at Aylen. “How about you, T’Roth?”

Aylen tried to ignore it. The possibility. And yet, she _had_ to say it out loud.

“The Triad used to sabotage the data storage of warehouses at the moment of delivery registration, and then smuggled the cargo through the underground sewer systems or any other way that was available.” Aylen said, her voice unwavering. “Weren’t above bribery, either,” Galatea muttered.

“Correct,” Neeka said.

But one detail didn’t match. “But the Triad dealt in people trafficking. What do they have to do with this? Any other group could have used this method.”

Galatea interjected. “Right, unless we have a way to narrow down the data corruption cause to something specific, there’s no way-”

“Does the Key Sequence mean anything to you?”

Aylen’s heart pounded in her throat. All she could think about right now was the smell of blood and the darkness of a dark room.

She kept her voice firm. “The Shadow Numbers?”

“Correct,” said the Spectre. “A sequence of numbers that we found hidden in the virus used for the corruption of the data. I see you are familiar with the names.”

“Names?” Galatea asked.

Neeka Haldios closed the folder and opened a document. A list of number sequences.

“Key Sequence. Shadow Numbers. Matrix 0. These are just a bunch of the names used in current jargon to refer to-”

“Coding. Or ciphers,” said Aylen.

The room fell silent, the only sound around them the humming of the ship, echoing in the walls, its engines toned down chatting in the stomach of a metal beast.

Galatea squinted in concentration. “Isn’t it heavily regulated under intergalactic laws?”

“Precisely. What concerns us is the fact that the Triad used a very primitive version of it in the past, but this new system is more refined. Cracking just this amount of information challenged multiple AIs for weeks.”

Aylen stared at her hands in her lap, her neck in cold sweat.

“So this means they are at least funded enough to possess the processing power of a few AIs themselves,” said Galatea.

“And this time they may not be alone.”

Galatea whistled. “Well, we’re off to a great start.”

Neeka gave them a small smile. “I would hope so. We think that the Triad is working with a new group. Ambitious, too. They hunt for raw resources and tech components. We suspect they might be trying to form an armed group of some sort.”

Aylen swallowed and looked at the Spectre. “And we don’t know why, do we?”

Neeka shook her head and said, “Which is why I need your help.”

Their help? All Aylen was going to be helpful for was keeping track of the symptoms of her panic attacks so she could avoid them. But it was her job. And Galatea was there.

But Aylen knew that, as soon as they got to sleep, she would have dreamed of her own blood gurgling in her mouth, the taste of iron making her nauseous and her lungs failing as blood filled her throat and breath.

* * *

**Scene 04 - The Osiris, Omega**

Nadya threw herself on her bed, her muscles relaxed and her mind blank, the ship a silent machine around her. Sometimes business talk proved to be _productive_.

“Did you turn me off for three hours?” REA asked.

Nadya smirked. “What do you think?”

“I can’t ensure your safety if you do this every time you want private time.”

“You’re lucky I don’t do it more often.”

“Your father wouldn’t be very pleased, Nadya.”

Nadya turned her face in the pillow. And then raised it when she was short of breath. That was always the excuse whenever she did something that strayed from REA’s standards of ‘keep Nadya safe’.”

She sighed. “Dad’s not here.”

“It’s my job to keep you safe-”

“I _know_ ,” Nadya turned on her back. “I know.”

She sat up and grabbed her terminal. She opened the unread messages.

_GK:_

_Sailor paying back her debts? I’ll believe it when I see it._

_Sailor:_

_Don’t fuck with me, I just sent 200 creds to your account._

_GK:_

_Unbelievable. You’re buttering me up for a job, aren’t you?_

_Sailor:_

_Do I need money to do that?_

_GK:_

_… no. But you’ll need money for a service. What do you need?_

Nadya forwarded a call. The receiver picked up after 1.5 seconds, Nadya’s digital clock be damned.

“I’m guessing this is gonna be a _long story_?” Gilean mockered her usual explanation for ‘I need to call you’.

“Funny. And yes, it kind of is,” she opened a few files on her desk. “I got a job on Namakli. I hear there’s an up and coming network of information business that could give Nova Ilium a run for its money.”

“Oh yeah, it’s pretty busy, too,” Gilean typed something. “It’s not controlled by a specific race.”

“So Ilium but diverse, got it. Can you tell me more?”

“Asperant Corp is the top dog, they control the docks area and the main commercial district,” Gilean said, and then muttered, “New colonies are all the rage right now.”

Nadya hummed. “Asperant? Who works for them in there?”

“This’ll cost you extra.”

“Dude, come on, I just paid you-”

“A debt. It’s 500 creds or bust, my friend.”

Nadya huffed. She typed a transfer. “There you go. Now tell me.”

Gilean chuckled. “Aria’s paying you well for this one, huh?”

“None of your fucking business, Gil.”

“Sure,” he typed, a grin in his voice. “Asperant Corp has a bunch of armed teams for illicit operations, mainly humans and salarians, some drell, too. Three information brokers, one in the docks and two in the commercial district. There’s control competition in the Kandra Wards between A Corp and the Triad.”

“Oh, good to know. Don’t need to be buried alive again.”

“Sailor, I usually don’t care a Kalahira’s head what kind of death you wanna die of, but don’t fuck with the Triad.”

“Too late,” Nadya sat up better in her bed. “So how much do you want for a list of names?”


End file.
